Bosch is supplying hydrogen boiler

Gunzenhausen/Wunsiedel, Germany – Hydrogen has enormous potential for creating a carbon-neutral future. Bosch is now supplying a new “Hydrogen ready” UT-L series boiler for the Wunsiedel Energy Park in the Fichtel Mountains in Germany. With up to 100% hydrogen, the UT-L is ready for future operation and can produce carbon-neutral thermal energy for the new Gelo Timber sawmill. The hydrogen itself is supplied by a Siemens electrolysis plant, one of the largest of its kind in Germany. The plant should become operational by the end of 2021, providing exclusively green hydrogen from renewable energy.

The operating company for the new Bosch boiler, the gas supplier Wunsiedel GmbH, will use natural gas initially, in order to supply the Gelo Timber sawmill with heat. After the electrolysis is commissioned, the service provider can switch flexibly between natural gas firing and hydrogen firing. This means that, if there is a surplus of renewable energy, it is possible to use hydrogen, therefore avoiding the need to shut down the renewable energy plants. As renewable energies are increasingly expanded, more and more hydrogen can be used for heat generation, with the goal of completely dispensing with fossil fuels.

Bosch has already equipped the heating boiler with a dual fuel burner in its production facility, and based its design on operation with hydrogen, which enables a quick fuel change later. When hydrogen is used, water vapour is released as flue gas instead of CO₂. The hydrogen combustion procedure is significantly more complex than natural gas firing; aside from technical feasibility, there are also increased safety requirements. Bosch has developed innovations to solve these challenges and has already gained relevant experience. The UT-L heating boiler used will be capable of producing up to five megawatts of heat carbon-neutrally. AGO GmbH Energie + Anlagen has been selected for the integration and installation of the Bosch systems on-site.

The hydrogen project in Wunsiedel is the result of a technology partnership between Siemens AG, Rießner-Gase GmbH and SWW Wunsiedel GmbH. The electrolysis plant is intended to support the transformation of the German energy landscape, and will combine the hydrogen produced with a renewable energy supply. The energy source is made available to the surrounding industrial enterprises, such as Gelo Timber, and is used, for example, in boilers for heat supply. “Heating applications such as this one using green hydrogen are fundamental for the decarbonisation of our energy supply,” confirms Marco Krasser, Managing Director of SWW Wunsiedel GmbH. To this end, Bosch provides sophisticated solutions, both for subsequently retrofitting industrial boilers to run on climate-neutral fuels, and for new systems. An important step in producing process heat and heating energy without generating CO₂.